The 2,300 km Great Barrier Reef is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the world's largest protected reef system.
It is one of the world's natural wonders, covering an area larger than Italy and drawing nearly 2 million tourists every year to boat, swim, snorkel and dive amid its elaborate flora and fauna. It generates some $6 billion in revenue for Australia annually which equates to about 19 Airbus A380’s or 1,333 Lamborghini Veneno roadsters at 4.5 Million each, and the great barrier reef provides employment to more than 50,000 people- enough to almost fill Adelaide oval. It's also one of the planet's most fragile ecosystems, home to more than 11,000 species that live, if not necessarily in harmony, in a careful
…show more content…
Corals build colonies that secrete calcium carbonate to form ocean reefs. When they're healthy, coral reefs provide shelter and food for animals all along the food chain, including the top: us. Across the planet, half a billion people rely, directly and indirectly, on corals for their living. That's why what happens to the 9,000-year-old Great Barrier Reef, as well as to other reefs worldwide, is critical. The floods in Queensland have hurt the Great Barrier Reef by funnelling into the ocean vast plumes of freshwater and agricultural runoff that could severely damage the coral. Besides the extreme rain that sparked the floods, rising ocean temperatures, changes to the ocean's chemistry and the global trade in natural resources — all symptoms of our fossil-fuel economy — are waging a multiform war on the marine …show more content…
Overfishing and pollution can be much more effectively dealt with by focusing on local responses.
Corals dislike warm water about as much as acidity. When oceans get typically warm, corals can eject the algae that symbiotically live in their skeletons, providing food in exchange for shelter. The ejection process is called bleaching, named by the white skeleton left behind when the coral gets sick and, in some cases, dies.
As atmospheric carbon dioxide levels continue to rise, global warming will increase ocean temperatures and, along with that, the frequency and severity of bleaching events. In 2010, one of the hottest years in recorded human history, reefs bleached throughout the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean and off the coasts of Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Without the necessary reduction in the production of emissions, the death of the Great Barrier Reef will result in 6 billion dollars less in the economy and the loss of more than 50,000 jobs, If the oceans' corals were to collapse, the whole food chain will
The Great Barrier Reef is under threat due to many human impacts and natural impacts. These impacts lead to other consequences that may harm our society as well. For example, if the Great Barrier Reef was to be damaged by pollution, tourism levels would decrease, which can lead to a drop in the economic stance of Australia. For these reasons, it is important to keep our ecosystems safe and protected. Some of the human impacts towards the Great Barrier Reef include:
In the past two years, the bleachings of 2016 and 2017 have hit the Great Barrier Reef, and once again they have done horrific damage. Kerry states that the constant bleaching is concerning for two reasons: the 12 month gap between the two bleachings is too short for any coral recovery and last years bleaching was most severe in the northern part of the reef. Kerry states that last year, the temperature peak in March causes 67% of the corals to die in a 700 km section in the northern part of the Barrier Reef. This is the greatest loss of corals ever recorded in history and it’s still too early to tell if the corals will make it after this years bleaching. Kerry goes on to say that most of the bleached corals in the southern part of the reef have regained their color, meaning they thankfully survived. Kerry goes on to say there are four huge factors in the geographic patterns of the bleachings. He then goes on to give the reasons for the south surviving. To sum them up, it’s simply because the sea temperatures were close to normal during the bleachings of 2016 and 2017 in the south, the rainfall from El Nino coincided with the heat waves in 2016, and two local weather events saved the south from bleaching. Kerry closes the article by concluding that the bleachings from this year and last year will continue to unfold in the coming
Global warming has been on the world’s radar for many years. For Australia and our world heritage site, the rising sea temperatures in the last three decades have seriously affected the Great Barrier Reef in many ways, the most concerning of which being coral bleaching. This incredibly beautiful but fragile underwater world is also
The Great Barrier Reef is the largest reef In the world being at 345, 000 square kilometres in size. This huge amount of reef is home to 1,500 species of fish, 30 species of whales and dolphins, and 133 species of sharks and rays (Act.greenpeace.org, 2018). Imagine you were one of these fish and your home was just dying off leaving you without food and having to move to different areas. We are the ones causing The Great Barrier Reef to die! Not only does the reef provide homes and food for all of these animals but it also provides the ocean and earth with large amounts of oxygen.
One environmental issues posted on the facebook group on Ecologically Conscious Social is climate change’s effect impacts on Great Barrier Reef where is one of the UNESCO world heritage sites. Great Barrier Reef is located in Queensland, Australia.
The Great Barrier Reef is iconic. It has a central place in Australian culture and psyche, and a visit to the reef is reliably rated among the top three must do experiences in international surveys. The Great Barrier Reef has continued to evoke wonder and awe in visitors, from the earliest European explorers negotiating the “monstrous labyrinth of coral” by sailing ship, to the thousands of tourists who arrive annually to experience one of the natural wonders of the world.
Marine Park Authority’s conduct an outlook report every five years which examines the Great Barrier Reef’s health, highlighting current and future pressures. This
One environmental issues posted on the Facebook group on Ecologically Conscious Social is climate change’s effect impacts on the Great Barrier Reef where is one of the UNESCO world heritage sites. The Great Barrier Reef is located in Queensland, state of Australia.
"Coral reefs… are fragile structures living within a narrow range of temperature, clarity, salinity and chemistry. Even a slight increase in ocean temperature, or increased CO2… can cause stresses such as bleaching… These stresses slow the rate of growth of the corrals… With some 60 percent of the world’s coral reefs now losing productivity, it’s becoming a global crisis and a scientific mystery."
The Great Barrier Reef in Australia is experiencing bleaching. According to France-Presse, bleaching of a reef is “coral...that has been stressed by the heat” (France-Presse). When a coral has been “stressed by heat,” (France-Presse) the coral discards the algae that lives within itself which causes the coral to be more susceptible to disease. It can take up to several decades for a coral to recover from bleaching. Because of that fact that most coral does not have enough time to recover, it dies.
One of the world’s largest living structure, the Great Barrier Reef is biologically rich and diverse and is Australia’s most valued and remarkable environmental resources (Australian government). As the world’s most comprehensive coral reef ecosystem, the Great Barrier Reef is a site of unparalleled natural beauty on the north-east coast of Australia (unesco).
Coral reefs around the world are in danger. One of the causes is global warming, which has been increasing the temperature of the ocean water resulting in coral bleaching. This essay will focus on damage occurring to the Great Barrier Reef.
While traveling through the spectacular continent of Australia you will find yourself discovering many local beauties.The Great Barrier Reef is the largest and most known coral reef ecosystem in all of the world. This massive reef covers over 1800 miles or approximately 2000 kilometers and thrives in the untouched and undeveloped waters of the pacific ocean. This incredible reef contains thousands of different species including coral, fish, birds, reptiles and so much more. Among many of Australia's flourishing tourist attractions the Great Barrier reef tops all others. Not only is this location a beautiful spot to look at it offers many attractions above and below the water. Snorkeling, scuba diving, fishing,
The Great Barrier Reef is Australia’s natural gifts. The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef. The Reef is located off the coast of Queensland. It is the largest living thing on Earth and even visible from outer space. The area is 348,000 km² and considered a one of the world’s heritage sites. Thousands of reefs and hundreds of islands made of over 600 types of hard and soft coral. It's home to countless species of colourful fish, molluscs and marine animals (starfish, dolphins, turtles etc.). The Great Barrier Reef is a large tourist attraction of Australia and is important to some cultures such as aboriginals. It reaches from Torres Strait to the north of Lady Elliot Island. The Australian and Queensland governments are
Since early 1998, climate change has been demonstrating its effects in increasing the ocean 's temperature (West & Salm, 2003). Warm water stress corals causing the phenomenon known as coral bleaching, by which expulsion of colourful symbiotic algae the zooxanthellae, vital for